United States v. STABL

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STABL processed dead cattle and offal in Lexington. As part of Nebraska’s EPA-approved National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System program, the state issued STABL a pretreatment permit, effective in 2008, that contained effluent limitations for wastewater that STABL discharged to the city’s wastewater treatment plant. The city controlled the valve that allowed wastewater to flow from STABL’s facility to the treatment plant. STABL paid the city to perform testing and monitoring and used the city’s records as the basis for discharge monitoring reports required by the permit. STABL’s manager signed the DMRs, which reflect numerous instances when STABL exceeded its permit limitations. In 2010, STABL sold its facility. The purchase price was reduced by $1 million to account for the costs of a pretreatment system needed to bring STABL’s facility into compliance. The federal and the Nebraska governments brought an enforcement action against STABL for violations of the Clean Water Act , 33 U.S.C. 1342, and the Nebraska Environmental Protection Act. The court granted the government partial summary judgment and, following a bench trial of the remaining issues, imposed a civil penalty of $2,285,874. The Eighth Circuit affirmed, finding that district court’s evidentiary rulings and grant of partial summary judgment were not in error or were harmless error. View "United States v. STABL" on Justia Law